If You Leave Without a Word - Chapter 220

‧₊˚ ☁️⋅♡𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ☾.

Without hesitation, the Grand Duke left. Behind him echoed the servant’s agonized screams as he was beheaded without another chance to beg for his life.

“We must leave Pahel as soon as possible.”

“I will prepare the carriage immediately.”

“No, it seems safer and faster to go by sea now, so we’re heading to the port.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

As if they had never been there, the Grand Duke and his knights swiftly left without delay.

Only the servant, who had hoped to return home and enjoy a better life with his family, ended up dying a miserable death, bleeding out on the vast land without achieving his desires.

Though not as pitiful as the Count’s death, it was still a wretched end, not much different from it.

⚜ ⚜ ⚜

The Grand Duke and his entourage rushed to the port only to face an unexpected obstacle.

“There are no ships? What do you mean? There are so many ships over there.”

“Well, to go that far, you can’t take those small vessels. You need a much larger ship.”

“Then just provide that ship, isn’t that simple?”

“To board that ship, you need approval from the Borgia family.”

A dispute broke out between the port official responsible for handling ships and the Grand Duke’s knights. Their opinions were sharply divided—”Give the ship” versus “Absolutely not”—and showed no sign of compromise.

All ships leaving Pahel’s port were owned by the Borgia family. Until recently, the authority had been held by Count Schuck, but after Agatha negotiated with the Count, the ownership reverted to the Borgia family, the original owners.

Frustration surged through the Grand Duke as it felt like every attempt was being thwarted.

Masked and concealing his face, the Grand Duke interrupted their conversation.

“Hey. How much more money will it take to get a ship?”

“What? What are you saying? It’s not about a few more coins. These ships have owners. If you want to sail, you need the owner’s permission…”

A leather pouch dropped in front of the official. Without a word, the Grand Duke tossed the pouch carelessly and nodded—an invitation to open it.

“Ah!”

Inside the pouch were so many gold coins they couldn’t be held in one hand. The value of a single coin was probably equal to the official’s annual salary.

Seeing such an expensive offering so casually tossed by a stranger, the official immediately recognized that this was no ordinary person. Even the wealthy Count wouldn’t have thrown around such gold so freely.

Between last night’s chaos and the appearance of this masked nobleman…

Strange things were happening one after another in this quiet rural town, which was anything but normal.

The official quickly thought things through. It was best to keep a low profile in such turbulent times.

Moreover, Charlotte—the last heir of the Borgia family—had left Pahel not long ago. Though a proxy was left to manage Borgia affairs, with no real owner present, there was no need to cling to loyalty by refusing such a large sum.

The official pushed aside any pangs of conscience.

“Among their ships, the class 3 or higher vessels can carry enough provisions for two months. The largest of them is…”

“Bring the fast ship.”

“Excuse me?”

“This damned rural village doesn’t seem to understand instructions quickly. I said bring the fast ship.”

“The fast ship… I cannot provide it.”

“Is that amount of gold not enough? Do you not know that excessive greed will cost you your life?”

Cold words from the Grand Duke made cold sweat trickle down the official’s back. The Count who once ruled the South had suddenly died, and now these high-ranking figures had appeared, talking so casually about killing him—it was not something to dismiss as mere bluster.

“That’s not it. The fast ship has already been approved and reserved by someone else, with payment made to the Borgia family.”

“Who made that reservation?”

“I cannot disclose that information, but there is a class 4 ship that can sail fairly quickly. You could take that…”

“I clearly said I need nothing else.”

“But I’m telling you, it’s already been reserved.”

“Damn arrogant fools! I don’t care who made the reservation. If I say bring the fast ship, then bring it! Stop with all the excuses!”

“Please calm your anger.”

As the Grand Duke’s voice rose louder than necessary, attracting attention from nearby people, a knight approached and whispered—omitting titles to avoid ears overhearing:

“Will you hand over the ship, or your head? Choose one.”

“…The fare is based on the distance traveled. If you pay double the original reservation price, we can modify the booking.”